Ireland’s biggest craft beer celebration, The Irish Craft Beer and Cider Festival, returns to RDS, Dublin from 5-8th September 2013. A showcase and gathering of Irish craft brewing, cider making and whiskey distilling coupled with live music and fabulous Irish artisan food stalls. The festival will fall in line with Irish Craft Beer Week which will run from August 30th onwards throughout selected independent pubs and off-licences nationwide.

An industry of growth
The Irish craft beer industry is thriving in a time of national recession, with over half of the existing 37 breweries/cider makers having been set up since 2009. Within the craft beer sector alone, industry sales rose by 42.5% last year and are expected to increase by at least a further 35% this year. This rise was experienced in both the domestic (55%) and the international (25%) market places despite an overall decrease in domestic alcohol and beer sales. Despite this being an industry which owns approximately 0.4% of the Irish beer market, it is a growth industry which is expanding on a daily basis and simultaneously increasing its following and interest levels from the Irish consumer.

It hasn’t been an easy ride for craft brewers and cider makers nationwide. As companies, breweries have had to be creative and take risks, but most importantly be patient. This year alone, Kinsale Craft Brewery embarked on a journey of crowd funding in an attempt to secure enough money to build their new brew house in Cork. Bru Brewery, who will launch themselves officially at the Irish Craft Beer and Cider Festival, opened their 15 Barrel Brewery in Trim after two years of planning. Galway Bay Brewery, established in 2009, have only this month stated packaging their beer into bottles.

More established breweries are still working hard to differentiate themselves and show continuous development and creativity to their fans. In addition to general plans for growth and structural changes, breweries are colaborating with one another to bring the consumer unique products of with depth in flavour and cuolture. This September, J.W. Sweetman is will introduce its first collaborative brew with The Carlow Brewing Company (O’Hara’s) to celebrate The Irish Craft Beer & Cider Festival. Known as gypsy brewing, this age old technique of combining two craft beers from traditional brewing houses results in a truly unique beer.

This year’s festival (running from the 5th to the 8th September in the RDS) will welcome craft breweries and cider makers of all stages of growth. From the newly established companies in the NanoBar to the longer established breweries in their individual stands. The Cider Sanctuary will again have a NanoBar with newly established cider makers and then the individual stands for the likes of Tempted? Cider and Stonewell. The festival will play host to its Whiskey Corner, welcoming brands such as Teelings and Dingle Distillery.

The festival
Featuring over 30 craft beverage producers, offering over 100 beers and ciders, the festival is expected to attract over 8,000 attendees throughout the weekend. This year, the team is looking forward to showcasing niche brands, new products and pipe-line products, as well as providing craft-beer and cider lovers with food and drinks pairing advice from Dunne & Crescenzi and the opportunity to meet some of the up and coming brewers at the first ever Irish NanoBar.

Co-Founder of the Irish Craft Beer Festival, Seamus O’Hara, says, “The Irish craft beer industry is booming at the moment. Year-on-year growth is at an all-time high and the interest from the public in our craft and trade is making this sector a great one to be involved in at the moment. Craft beer and cider making is about so much more than a beverage. The complexities of flavours and the intricacy of the brewing process make it possible to create the myriad of different products – all unique and interesting in their own right. We are all thoroughly looking forward to opening the doors to the RDS on the 5th of September to show Ireland what we have been up to for the past year!”

Breweries featuring at the festival include, but are not limited to, O’Hara’s, Dungarvan, White Gypsy, Eight Degrees, Trouble, Galway Hooker, Galway Bay, West Kerry and Dingle. Cider makers include but are not limited to McIvors, Stonewell, Armagh and Tempted?.

For the first time, the festival will open on a Thursday evening, offering attendees the opportunity to come early and experience some of the showcasing festival brews as well as new product launched. Trade attendees are offered the opportunity to attend throughout the weekend at any point free of charge. For more information on how to avail of this, please log onto http://www.irishcraftbeerfestival.ie/press-and-trade.html.